Adjustable shoe zipper



June 23, 1959 J, VOLK I 2,891,328

ADJUSTABLE SHOE Z IPPER Filed March 5, 1958 INVENTOR. cffiJ'f ff Voz/f' Patented June '23, 1959 fiice ADJUSTABLE SHOE [ZIPPER Joseph Volk, Yonkers, NY. Application March s, 1958, Serial No. 718,753 2 Claims. (Cl. 36+s0) This invention relates to shoes and, more particularly, to a shoe having an adjustable upper.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe upper having a cutout adjacent to the front end thereof which is normally occupied by a tongue that insulates the foot from the shoe laces, in which a slide fastener replaces the shoe laces and is so supported by the upper as to enable the shoe to be further adjusted for various foot sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe upper having at least a single tongue portion that is permanently secured at one end to the shoe upper and is adjustably supported at the opposite end thereto for controlling the size of the foot receiving opening in the top of the shoe so as to occommodate a foot of any particular width.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe upper of the type described that is particularly attractive in appearance, is simple to apply and remove from the foot, and which is extremely comfortable to the wearer.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a shoe made in accordance with one form of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of certain parts of the shoe shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of a modified form of construction;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a still further modified form of construction; and

Figure 6 is a framgentary top plan view of still another form of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Figures 1 to 3 thereof,-a shoe 10 made in accordance with one form of the present invention is shown to include an outer sole 11 and an upper 13. The upper 13 is provided with an inboard and an outboard section 15, 16 immediately adjacent to the foot receiving opening in the top thereof. The inboard and outboard sections 15, 16 are spaced apart at the front side to define an open space 18 therebetween that is occupied by a modi fied form of tongue that is adjustably supported therewithin.

One side 20 of a slide fastener is secured to the outboard section 16 of the upper, such as by stitches 19, while the opposite side 21 of the slide fastener is secured to the adjacent side of a tongue 23, such as by stitches 26. A slider 22 is movable along the teeth of the slide fastener to selectively open and close the space between the tongue and the outboard section of the upper. A portion 24 of the lining of the shoe is in spaced relationship with the inboard section 15 of the upper, whereby a slot is defined which slidably receives the tongue 23 therewithin. The tongue at its upper end is provided with a plurality of laterally spaced apart holes 25, any selective one of which is adapted to receive the prong of a male snap fastener 27 which is adapted to be releasably secured within a mating female snap fastener 28 secured to the inboard section 15 of the upper.

The operation of this construction will now be readily understood; In the event that a large foot is to be received within the shoe, the male prong of the snap fastener 27 is engaged within the opening 25 which is closest to the inboard edge of the tongue 23, whereupon the foot receiving opening of the shoe is substantially enlarged. Following this adjustment, it then only becomes necessary to operate the slide fastener each time that the shoe is applied or removed from the foot.

In Figure 4 of the drawing, a slightly modified form of construction 30 is shown wherein the tongue is divided into two substantially equal parts 31a, b, one of which is associated with the inboard section 33 of the upper and the other one of which is associated with the outboard section 34 of the upper. A slide fastener 35 cooperates with the adjacent edges of the tongue parts to effectively open and close them. Snap fasteners 36a, b are associated with each inboard and outboard section and adjacent tongue parts, operate in the manner hereinbefore described in connection with the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3.

In Figure 5 of the drawing, a still further modified form of construction 40 is shown wherein the shoe is provided with a tongue 41 adjacent to the outboard side of the upper, which tongue includes a slide fastener 42, a single snap fastener 43, and a narrow space 44 between the outboard side of the upper and the inboard side thereof. The operation of this embodiment is similar to that hereinbefore described, the main difference being one of style in which the opening 44 is disposed adjacent to the outboard side of the shoe.

In Figure 6 of the drawing, a still further modified form of construction 45 is shown wherein the tongue 47a, b is similar to that described in connection with that in Figure 4 of the drawing, a single slide fastener 48 being provided, but a plurality of snap fasteners 50a, b being disposed along each inboard and outboard section of the upper. In this embodiment a more positive grip is applied to the parts of the tongue that are releasably secured to the inboard and outboard sides of the upper.

It will now be recognized that other modifications and embodiments of the present invention can be provided without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the holes in the top portion of the various tongues may also be lined with metal eyelets, or reinforced with a metal plate having similarly spaced apart perforations. In addition, spring activating attachments can be applied to the grip fasteners, or other releasable gripping mechanism that would serve the purpose, if desired. Furthermore, the inboard and outboard sections of the upper may be provided with additional flaps that will overlap each other to completely hide the slide fastener, in a manner similar to that used on galoshes.

It will be further understood that in some types of shoes, rubbers, footwear, and other wearing apparel, the zippered tongue may be wholly detachable and wholly secured by fasteners at both ends, as may be desired.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A shoe comprising, in combination, an outer sole, an upper secured to said outer sole, a lining within said upper, said upper having inboard and outboard sides defining a longitudinal cut out adjacent to the front end thereof, a flexible tongue secured within said cut out of said upper, fastener means associated with said upper and said flexible tongue for laterally adjusting the size of said cut out and the transverse distance between said inboard and said outboard sides relative to the width of said tongue, said tongue comprising an inboard portion at said inboard side of said upper and an outboard portion at said outboard side of said upper, a slide fastener'releasably connecting said inboard side and said outboard side of said tongue together, a snap fastener releasably securing at least one of said tongue portions to said upper, said one tongue portion being permanently secured at one end to said upper, the opposite end of said tongue including a plurality of laterally spaced apart openings, said snap fastener including a male part secured to said lining, a female part secured to said upper, and one of said openings receiving said male part therethrough, and both of said tongue portions being releasably secured at said opposite" end to said upper.

2. A shoe as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of snap fasteners at each side of said upper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 162,974 Tucker May 4, 1875 179,891 Bodkin July 18, 1876 633,919 Starkey Sept. 26, 1899 973,012 Delaveau Oct. 18, 1910 1,624,143 McEntee et a1 Apr. 12, 1927 2,345,057 Marinetti Mar. 28, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 380,909 Great Britain Sept. 29, 1932 

